In manufacturing, time is money. The more efficient your employees, the more accurate and productive they will be. If you are growing your company, focus on effective and ongoing training to help your business take off.
Have A Plan
Effective training is not reactive or ad hoc. It is proactive and requires strategic planning. You must determine exactly what skills, techniques and processes your employees should be trained on at every level, so you can design effective training programs.
When creating your plan, include areas where you identify gaps in skills and close those first. If you train someone above their skill level, that training will be for naught.
Set Training Goals
You must measure whether or not your training program is working, and that requires goals. When goals are set, you can track whether they are being achieved. Tie those training goals to individual KPIs and performance reviews, so employees understand just how important company training programs are.
Hold Regular Training Sessions
Frequent training reinforces good habits, cultivates good behaviours, fosters a culture of learning and ensures skills and knowledge are maintained. Training sessions are also a great way to keep employees informed of process or safety protocol changes.
Use Employees to Train Peers
Leaders are not always the best choices to teach training sessions because they are often far removed from the day-to-day tasks employees perform. Choose effective, efficient supervisors and employees to lead training sessions because they are the ones who do the work every day. Make sure to reward trainers with raises or bonuses in exchange for this extra responsibility.
Cross-Train Employees
Cross-training is important for several reasons. First, if someone is absent or must leave a shift unexpectedly, another employee on that shift can step in. Cross-training also allows you to identify employees with development and advancement potential. You might have someone working in one area who, after being cross-trained, excels in another and may be a better fit for that job. Finally, cross-training helps employees see how their primary job fits into the bigger picture and how their work impacts other employees’ work.
Looking For More Tips On Building Great Manufacturing Teams?
If your Ontario-based manufacturing company is looking for strategies to hire well and build effective teams, call 1-800-842-0421 or contact the expert recruiters at Employment Professionals Canada today.
